Drakensberg walking guide Cicerone Cicerone | 9781852848811

This guidebook presents 75 day walks of 1 to 26km in South Africa's Maloti-Drakensberg Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in KwaZulu Natal and easily accessible from Johannesburg, Harrismith, Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the region boasts dramatic cliffs, gorges and waterfalls, abundant wildlife and 2000 year old rock paintings. Seasons: Walks in this book can be undertaken at any time of year. The limitations imposed by adverse weather conditions can occur in any month. However, snow is most common in June and July and there are frequent and sometimes severe thunderstorms in summer. Centres: The key centres for the walks are the entrances to the individual areas of the Park and usually have nearby accommodation of all types. They include the Royal Natal National Park, Cathedral Peak, Monk's Cowl, Injisuthi, Giant's Castle, Highmoor, Kamberg, Lotheni, the Himeville and Underberg districts, plus Bushman's Nek. Difficulty: These are all day walks from 1km to 20km, easy strolls to strenuous day hikes. A simple classification of difficulty is used which takes into consideration distance, height gain, expected duration and any physical issues such as scrambling, ladders and exposure. Must See: A dramatic, exciting and unique mountainous region of South Africa nestling on the eastern side of Lesotho. Stunning scenery, towering basalt cliffs (eg the Amphitheatre), 3000m mountains (eg Cleft Peak), deep gorges (eg Thukela with the second highest waterfall in the world); abundant wildlife; 2000-year old Bushman rock paintings.